Thursday, December 5
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
6-3,0-1Big West
64
vs
68
UC Riverside
5-4,1-0Big West
1
2
F
UC Riverside
31
37
68
CSUN
35
29
64
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Falls in the Final Seconds to UC Riverside
12/5/2024 9:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN could not hold on to a slim lead in the final seconds as UC Riverside rallied for a tight 68-64 victory in the 2024-25 Big West opener on Thursday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Scotty Washington led the way with 23 points while Keonte Jones finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in defeat.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN opened with an early 4-0 lead on baskets from Jones and Washington. The Matadors leaned on that duo from most of the night as Jones and Washington scored again in succession at the 15-minute mark for a CSUN 11-7 lead. Off the bench, Marcus Adams Jr. scored on a drive to the hoop to extend the Matador lead while PJ Fuller II made back-to-back baskets to give CSUN a 19-9 advantage with 11:18 left in the first half. Washington buried a three for a 24-14 lead with less than eight minutes in the period, but the Highlanders began to battle back in the game over the ensuing minutes. UCR's leading scorer Barrington Hargress, who began 1-of-6 on the floor, would find his scoring touch down the stretch as his three with 5:03 to play cut the CSUN lead to 28-23. The Matadors would extend back to a 35-26 lead with 1:33 left on the clock before the Highlanders scored the final five points to close the half and pull closer at 35-31 at the break.
Out of intermission, CSUN turned the ball over three consecutive times while Hargress scored five-straight points to give UC Riverside its first lead. The Highlanders kept up their strong play with a 6-0 run, capped by a Joel Armotrading dunk for a UCR 42-37 lead. CSUN though stormed back on a quick 8-0 run, all scored by Washington as he drained a pair of threes. The Matadors held a 47-44 lead, but the Highlanders answered with a 9-0 run, closed by a Hargress three for their biggest lead at 56-49. Washington ended the run with another three while his layup at the 7:15 mark cut the deficit to 56-55. CSUN grabbed the lead on a Tyler Beard layup and added three more free throws in the ensuing minutes to stake to a 60-56 lead with 4:11 to go. However, the Highlanders rallied again, scoring the next five as Isaiah Moses buried a three for a 61-60 lead. Beard would answer with a three of his own on the next possession, which was set up by an offensive rebound from Mahmoud Fofana.Â
Moments later, Moses evened the game once more at 63-63 with 2:30 to play. Each side traded defensive stops leading to the final minute of play when Jones picked up an offensive rebound and was fouled. Jones split the two free throws, giving CSUN a 64-63 lead with 33 ticks on the clock. Hargress would answer on the other end with a traditional 3-point play to put UCR back on top. Trailing 66-64, CSUN had one last chance to square the game in the final seconds but a costly turnover dashed those chances. Niyi Olabode knocked down two clutch free throws to secure a Highlander victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We were trying to get a good shot [in the final possession], but we just couldn't get one and execute. When we needed guys to make plays, we fell short."
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up the week with its first Big West road test on Saturday at Cal Poly. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in audio broadcasts at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN opened with an early 4-0 lead on baskets from Jones and Washington. The Matadors leaned on that duo from most of the night as Jones and Washington scored again in succession at the 15-minute mark for a CSUN 11-7 lead. Off the bench, Marcus Adams Jr. scored on a drive to the hoop to extend the Matador lead while PJ Fuller II made back-to-back baskets to give CSUN a 19-9 advantage with 11:18 left in the first half. Washington buried a three for a 24-14 lead with less than eight minutes in the period, but the Highlanders began to battle back in the game over the ensuing minutes. UCR's leading scorer Barrington Hargress, who began 1-of-6 on the floor, would find his scoring touch down the stretch as his three with 5:03 to play cut the CSUN lead to 28-23. The Matadors would extend back to a 35-26 lead with 1:33 left on the clock before the Highlanders scored the final five points to close the half and pull closer at 35-31 at the break.
Out of intermission, CSUN turned the ball over three consecutive times while Hargress scored five-straight points to give UC Riverside its first lead. The Highlanders kept up their strong play with a 6-0 run, capped by a Joel Armotrading dunk for a UCR 42-37 lead. CSUN though stormed back on a quick 8-0 run, all scored by Washington as he drained a pair of threes. The Matadors held a 47-44 lead, but the Highlanders answered with a 9-0 run, closed by a Hargress three for their biggest lead at 56-49. Washington ended the run with another three while his layup at the 7:15 mark cut the deficit to 56-55. CSUN grabbed the lead on a Tyler Beard layup and added three more free throws in the ensuing minutes to stake to a 60-56 lead with 4:11 to go. However, the Highlanders rallied again, scoring the next five as Isaiah Moses buried a three for a 61-60 lead. Beard would answer with a three of his own on the next possession, which was set up by an offensive rebound from Mahmoud Fofana.Â
Moments later, Moses evened the game once more at 63-63 with 2:30 to play. Each side traded defensive stops leading to the final minute of play when Jones picked up an offensive rebound and was fouled. Jones split the two free throws, giving CSUN a 64-63 lead with 33 ticks on the clock. Hargress would answer on the other end with a traditional 3-point play to put UCR back on top. Trailing 66-64, CSUN had one last chance to square the game in the final seconds but a costly turnover dashed those chances. Niyi Olabode knocked down two clutch free throws to secure a Highlander victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN drops to 6-3 overall and 0-1 in Big West play while UC Riverside improves to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in league action.
- The Matadors shot 40.0 percent for the night while hitting 7-of-20 threes (35.0 percent) and 13-of-20 free throws (65.0 percent). The Highlanders finished with a 39.0 field goals percentage while they made 9-of-25 threes (36.0 percent) and 13-of-15 free throws (86.7 percent).
- CSUN out-rebounded UCR 38-33 for the night.
- Washington made 5-of-8 threes and 9-of-14 field goals overall. Fuller chipped in with eight points while Fofana had eight rebounds and five points.
- UCR's Hargress had a game-high 27 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We were trying to get a good shot [in the final possession], but we just couldn't get one and execute. When we needed guys to make plays, we fell short."
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up the week with its first Big West road test on Saturday at Cal Poly. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in audio broadcasts at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
UCR
CSUN
FG%
.390
.400
3FG%
.360
.350
FT%
.867
.650
RB
33
38
TO
16
18
STL
10
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballTexas State vs. Eastern Washington
Saturday, November 20
Texas State vs. Dixie State
Friday, November 19
A Conversation With Mark Gottfried
Friday, June 19
Preseason chat with Terrell Gomez
Thursday, October 03